The Valencian Community has activated this protocol with a suspected case of Marburg virus in a 34-year-old man who presented syndromes compatible with confinement, similar to Ebola and with a 50% lethality.
The patient was in Equatorial Guinea for a period of time that could correspond to the incubation and development of this virus that caused severe hemorrhagic fever.
Their biological tests are delivered to the reference laboratory of the Carlos III Health Institute in Madrid to confirm where the infection is eliminated, as reported by the Ministry of Health in a statement, which will become the first diagnosed in Spain.
The man has been transferred from a private hospital and is admitted to the High Level Isolation Unit of the La Fe Hospital in Valencia. In this way, he has indicated Health, will guarantee the safety of both his care and the protection of the health professionals who treat him.
On February 13, the health authorities of Equatorial Guinea and the WHO reported an outbreak for the first time in the country after identifying nine deaths with hemorrhagic symptoms in the provinces of Kie Ntem and Wele Nzas. In this case, 16 suspected cases had been registered and more than 4.300 people were in quarantine, with mobility restrictions on the border with Cameroon and Gabon.
Marburg virus is transmitted to people through the walls of the fruit and is spread between humans by direct contact with bodily fluids from infected people, surfaces and materials.
According to the WHO, its lethality is up to 88% if the patient is not properly cared for. The infection was first identified in 1967 in the German city as the number. For decades, there have been reports of cases in Germany, Serbia, Angola, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Africa and Uganda. In most of these outbreaks, human infection is related to prolonged stay in mines or caves inhabited by colonies of Rousettus bats and their subsequent contacts.
Precisely, the Public Health Commission of the Ministry of Health, and the Report on Alerts, Preparation Plans and Approval They responded this Friday to the 'Protocol of action for the early detection and management of cases of Marburg virus disease', with instructions addressed to Health professionals.
The document recalls that Spain maintains close relations with Equatorial Guinea, both economically and in development cooperation. In fact, it has direct flights with the African country, although it also indicates the sea route.
symptoms and treatment
The virus has an incubation period of between five and ten days -in which it is not transmitted- and caused a febrile hemorrhagic disease that begins abruptly with fever, muscle pain, weakness, headache and odynophagia. Then, in 50-80 percent of patients, rapid wasting accompanied by gastrointestinal syndromes, abdominal discomfort, severe nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea occurs within 5 to XNUMX days.
The intensity of the disease increases in 5-7 days with maculopapular rash and hemorrhagic syndromes such as petechiae, mucosal bleeding and gastrointestinal tract. In addition, and as reflected in the report, neurological symptoms (disorientation, seizure and coma) can occur in later stages.
The onset of transmissibility is related to viraemia and the appearance of the first symptoms, well during the incubation period, in the case of infected people it is asymptomatic, no virus is detected in blood or body fluids, therefore no virus is transmitted. Therefore, communicability begins when symptoms develop and persists as long as there is virus in the blood.
There is currently no specific treatment or licensed vaccines, except that supportive therapy (intravenous fluids, supplemental oxygen, electrolytes, etc.) can significantly improve clinical outcome. However, some pharmaceutical products such as immunotherapeutics, interferons or antivirals are being developed to combat the disease.
